This invention relates to pads used for polishing finished surfaces particularly where these have been painted and it is desired to remove imperfections from such surfaces.
It is well known that pads for such applications should have relatively high level of conformability, that is to say, they should be readily deformable to conform to the surface being polished to avoid excessive pressure being applied to one spot by comparison with an adjacent spot. For ease of application foam pads are typically adopted either as a backing for a conventional flexible sheet of a coated abrasive or as a foam pad with abrasive particles bonded directly to the surface of the foam or applied as a slurry between the pad and the surface.
The surface of the pad which contacts the workpiece can be planar or contoured with the latter being preferred where it may be desired to polish lightly with only a portion of the surface in contact with the workpiece or, more vigorously, compressed so essentially all the foam surface contacts the workpiece. Typical foams of this description are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,962,562; 5,007,128 and 5,396,737.
Such foams however lack an element of versatility in that they have a uniform composition and density such that only a single type of polishing can be performed and the pad needs to be changed if something different is required.
The present invention provides a system that is very adaptable and versatile while remaining extremely simple to use.
The present invention provides a resiliently compressible foam polishing pad comprising first and second opposed major working surfaces, each having a plurality of spaced depressions with the general shape of truncated hollow cones, (optionally with the truncated ends, which form the bases of the depressions, rounded), separated by truncated cones wherein the tops of the truncated cones, which also may optionally be rounded, all lie in the same plane and form the working surface. The truncated depressions and the cones described above are usually of the same dimensions such that notionally a cone would fit snugly within a depression but this is not an essential feature of the invention.
Generally the depressions in each major working surface are all of the same depth but it is often advantageous if the depressions have different depths even on the same working surface, such that upon increasing the compressive force upon the foam, the foam is flattened to increase the area of the surface in polishing contact with a workpiece, that is, the effective working surface, in two or more stages.
Portions of the foam between the depressions are described as xe2x80x9ctruncated conesxe2x80x9d but it is understood that, where the depressions are not uniform in size or are relatively widely spaced, the shapes of the structures between the depressions may not conform exactly to truncated cones and might even be interconnected with other adjacent structures. It is however understood that such structures are not excluded from the intended scope of the claimed invention.
While it is often preferred that the first and second working surfaces have the same working surface design this is by no means the only permissible structure. If it is desired to take advantage of the provision of two working surfaces on the same pad, the second working surface can have structures giving a different range of polishing options. This can be achieved by varying the separation between the depressions or their depth but more often the differentiation is achieved by using a foam of different compressibility with, optionally, the surface structure variations discussed above in addition.
The foam pad of the invention is of necessity compressible and therefore is preferably made from a polymer that can be foamed to make a resilient material that can be compressed and recover substantially its original dimensions after removal of the compressive forces. The polymer is preferably a thermoplastic or rubbery polymer such as for example a polyolefin, a plasticized polyvinyl halide, a polydiene or a polyurethane. For ease of manufacture and economy the preferred polymer is a polyurethane and most preferably an open-celled polyurethane which can be foamed with great control to produce a foam with a precisely controlled density.
The provision of a foam pad with two working surfaces can be achieved using appropriate molding techniques but more frequently it is achieved by laminating different foams together. This presents the opportunity to produce a pad in which each working surface is different in terms of structure, and/or, more preferably, foam density. The two pads can be laminated using an intermediate layer that can be simply an adhesive layer but more preferably is a rubbery polymeric layer which, while being flexible and possibly even foamed, is stiff enough to confer some increased dimensional stability on the pad. A suitable polymer for adhering such foam components together so as to form the pad is a polybutylene rubber. The relative physical stiffness of the intermediate layer becomes particularly important when the foam is to be used with a mechanized polisher which will require that the foam pad be retained within a holder of some sort.
The invention therefore also comprises a polishing system adapted for use in conjunction with an orbital polisher which comprises:
a) a resiliently compressible foam polishing pad in the form of a disc comprising first and second opposed major working surfaces, each having a plurality of spaced depressions with the general shape of truncated hollow cones, (optionally with the truncated ends, which form the bases of the depressions, rounded), separated by truncated cones wherein the tops of the truncated cones, which also may optionally be rounded, all lie in the same plane and form the working surface; and
b) a retaining cup within which the foam polishing pad is retained with one working surface projecting beyond the cup and the second working surface within the confines of the cup.
The retaining cup is preferably provided with retaining means by which the foam pad is releasably retained within the cup during use. The preferred form of retaining means restrain the pad against movement relative to the cup while in use in addition to providing a means by which the foam pad can be attached to an orbital sander for example by an axially located mandrel adapted to fit in the arbor of an orbital sander.
The retaining means can take the form of pins or protrusions adapted to fit within corresponding holes or depressions in the foam pad. They can also take the form of clips adapted to bear against the circumference of the disc or in depressions cut into the circumference of the pad intermediate between the working surfaces. Such depressions are conveniently in the portion of the circumference midway between the first and second working surfaces. When the pad if formed by laminating two pads using a harder polymeric layer, the depressions are conveniently formed in this layer so as to provide a cooperating surface for the clips or other retaining means that is less readily deformed than a foam providing the first or second working surface.
It is often preferred to give the foam pad ventilation channels connecting first and second working surfaces to aid in cooling the surfaces during polishing. Such channels are advantageously provided also in the body of the retaining cup such that air can circulate around the pad while it is in use.